Big Bass pics from Montauk Question ???

[StriperSniper]

All,
I was just browsing a few sites that post pics from Montauk and I'm seeing alot of big fish being taken over the past few days however I do have a comment that I'd like to make. First I just want to say the I'm very happy of the fact that we're on the top of the food chain and enjoy a nice seafood dinner as much as the next guy but I wonder how many of those big bass (most likely females) being photographed are being released ?

BTW did anybody see the East vs West Shark tourney on VS (used to be OLN) this weekend supposedly a bunch of East coast guys I believe allegedly stretched a Mako to make the cutoff...who knows what happened to the fish but the comment was "It had to die" from one of the "Anglers" (#$119)

Comments ????

Regards,
StriperSniper

[Mark L C]

should DIE! DIE! DIE! ESPN should be ashamed. I don't know why I watched as long as I did, 10 min. And they are wondering why the sharks are so small! DUH!!!! jerks, all of them!!!
If you haven't read "Striper Wars" you should. I don't know if I'll ever keep another bass. We as humans need to clean up our act, NOW!

[JGH]

ESPN's outdoor programming is generally a joke (except Guide House, of course, Brendan). Wild with Cindy Garrison, give me a break.

[tommat]

I would have to say that most BIG bass end up dead. Why, cause as long as it's a legal fish, people will say they have the right and who are you to question it. Second, if it's really BIG, like 50lbs+, it's usually a fish of a lifetime and people like to brag and have their picture taken. Charter boats love pictures of BIG dead bass to promote their business. Anglers also use the argument that it's only one fish, but if every angler thinks this way, then you can see how this would cause a lot of BIG dead bass. I think most people don't really care about long term health of the stock, until it's in trouble and then they all start complaining about lack of fish. I killed one 50lb fish in my lifetime when I was in my twenties,(47 years old now), and would never do it again. If I had a world record I wouldn't kill it, but that's just me..You want to see real stock destruction, look at the N.C. websites during the winter bass run. Piles of BIG dead breader bass on the docks. Legal yes, healthy, not so sure about that. Well enough ranting for one morning>>>>

[ShaneY]

(#$119) I don't understand how a recreational fisherman can keep a big bass. I personally have a limit of 2 per season but have set myself a slot limit of 28- 34. Last spring I caught my biggest at 47" and didn't think for a second about keeping it in hope that it could go out and make more monster bass.
Shane

[vitopass]

I agree with ShaneY. I keep about 1 to 2 bass a year, and 4 or 5, 1 to 4 pound blues. the rest I release with upmost care. I guess we forgot about the 80's. I remember going years with out a bass bigger then 28 inches.

[LIFlyguy]

A few years back I was on a charter out of montauk. It was a mixed bag of fisherman, some experienced and some googs. For most of the 12 hr trip the fisherman fished and the others drank in the cabin. When we docked and the mate was prepping the catch, these idiots were so drunk they were stepping on the fish, throwing it at each other to see who wanted it along with other unimaginative things. I got so angry. That was the only time I took home more than my share. Filled my freezer.
Point is alot of men that fish aren't fisherman,or woman. People need to be educated about respecting our fishery and maintaining it's balance for our sons and daughters to enjoy as we do. While enjoying a plate of my own catch once in a while, I practice C&R most of the time.
As far as the ESPN shows go, I take em for what there worth. Televised entertainment. I do enjoy watching Flip. Guide House was good too.

[striperblues]

What sites were you browsing?

I agree that anyone who keeps / kills big bass on a regular basis is a special kind of _ _ _ hole.

[Perch]

Well, I watch the outdoor shows, too. And, with the exception of Guide House which I really do think was well done and intelligent (and not just because my friends and my boat are in it), I see very little that interests me. Moreover, I see much that disgusts me. I enjoy watching Cindy Garrison, but I always mute the sound so I won’t have to hear what comes out of her mouth.

For years I have been trying to determine which is the most tasteless, brainless and obscene outdoor show on television. Beat Charlie Moore? No. Because, while one would like to, he’s just loud and silly. Tred Barta? I thought so for a while. But no. Because, despite all the macho drivel and all the fish blood he wallows around in, there was a really funny show in which he was desperately trying to clean up his filthy house for his girl friend and doing a horrible job of it.

At last I can report that Outdoor Life and Versus Networks’ “Outdoor Guide” wins hands down.

“The liberal elite of this country think that all hunters are dumb slobs,” intones host Steve Scott at the opening of the show. “I’m going to prove them wrong.”

Frequently the show is part infomercial, hawking “Performance Ballistic Alloy” pellets for “Gamo Adult Air Rifles” (recently recalled because they “may accidentally discharge.”) When I first tuned in I honestly thought it was an anti-hunting clip sponsored by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals or its ilk. There are repeated shots of “backyard pests,” as Scott defines them, exploding, twitching, contorting, bleeding, collapsing and dying as Performance Ballistic Alloy pellets from Gamo Adult Air Rifles tear into them. Among the “outdoor pests” that get blown away are basking turtles. BASKING TURTLES! Those pesky devils! (Of course this is highly illegal in virtually all states.)

Whenever Scott knocks off a “backyard pest” (which also include protected game species such as bobcats and squirrels) he cackles like a hunchback delivering body parts to Frankenstein…. “It’s like being a kid again,” he effuses. Yeah, a kid. You know--like when you ventilated everything that moved, regardless of the law--turtles, whatever.

Throughout the show Scott--who claims to be a “professor”--periodically addresses a phony classroom of phony students in which buxom girls proclaim: “I think shooting [substitute the critter that just expired] is an abomination.” They have a point, especially when you do it the way Scott does it--with a Gamo Adult Air Rifle, leaving the animal to rot where it fell.

So who are the “liberal elite”--people who object to this kind of activity? And how would you define “dumb slobs”? And what has Steve Scott proved?